Age Changes, Fath Doesn't
by Keyblade Hero Red
Summary: With Tails' new machine up and running, the gang is ready to see exactly what the end results are. Cream seems to be okay with being the first one into and out of the transformational machine. Everyone seems to have an opinion here, and Sonic ad Amy seem to be doing some star gazing during the daytime later on.


((AN: Here's the second one-shot to my one-shot collection. I'm uploading this on the fact that my beta reader isn't responding to me so I have to have a sort of appetizer for my readers before my second full length story comes out. As usual, any ideas for future one-shots or maybe even stores are fully accepted. In other words, I would like to hear them. As always, these are usually sent in without a beta reader and minor proof reading. If anyone would like to beta my one shots; and be quick about it; PM me. Also, by quick I mean finish in like a week. Oh yeah, Read and Review please!))

A Sonic Short:

Age Changes, Faith Doesn't

It was early morning, Tails had invited everyone down to his lab to showcase a new invention to them. Well, it was more of an experiment to be exact. Tails stood behind the control console while Sonic, Shadow, Amy, and Cream stood near it.

"Alright Tails, what exactly does this machine do anyway?" Sonic asked as he stood by a large machine with a glass capsule that seemed large enough to hold one Mobian.

"He's explained it to us like 4 times." Shadow commented as he leaned on a nearby wall. "Maybe you should pay attention more."

"Maybe you should learn to take a joke bro." Sonic replied, looking over to Shadow.

Shadow rolled his eyes in response. "That was a joke. More correctly sarcasm."

"Ahem!" Amy interrupted their usual banter. "You two bicker like real brothers." She turned to Tails. "Alright Tails, please explain this machine again. Since obviously these two," she gestured to Sonic and Shadow. "Can't seem to focus."

Tails nodded. "Alright sure. Ahem." He pointed everyone's attention to the machine. "I call it, the age advancer. I built it out of rodeium glass, which refracts power from a power cell which in then sends power through the eridium infraction inside the tube. Then it feeds it all through..."

"Tails." Sonic interrupted. "English please? And uh... Why?"

Tails chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah sorry... Anyway, I built it to jump ages up. You see, I've noticed the huge age gap between us Sonic..."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah... Being eighteen, and you being ten is a big difference."

Tails nodded. "Exactly. And Cream?"

Cream looked up at Tails from her siting position next to Amy. "Yes Tails?" She asked in her very young and innocent voice.

"Your eight right?"

Cream looked down a bit. "Seven and a half..."

Tails nodded. "You guys see? That's why I created this machine. In order to jump mine and Cream's age up a bit so we match up with you guys at least a little better." He looked around the room. "I wanna be able to do older people things and be able to hang out with you guys more and not feel like I'm hindering the possibilities of what we could do with my age limit..."

"Bro... None of us blame you for that." Sonic said with a smile.

"I do." Shadow joked, which then caused him to receive a glare from Amy.

"Anyway, have you even tested this thing yet T-2?" Sonic asked as he turned back to Tails.

"The machine has been fully tested and works perfectly. So no one will get hurt or anything like that what so ever."

Sonic walked around the machine examining it. "This is really impressive bro! Who's going first? You or Cream? Though you should probably have her mom's consent before you do it to it."

Tails smiled and pulled out a signed paper. "I got it already, that's actually why Cream's here."

Amy though, seemed a bit reluctant. "You sure this is a good idea? Still looks a bit dangerous."

Cream stood up and looked at the machine, then to Amy. "But Ms. Amy... I wanna be able to go shopping and everything with you and Ms. Rouge. Please let me do this?"

Amy sighed. "If it's what you want..."

Shadow stood up off the wall and walked over to Tails behind the console. "What's the age your jumping her to?"

"Sixteen." Tails replied as he powered up the machine. "Me and Cream will become the same age. Though there wasn't much of a difference between us anyway. It's more for the difference between her and Amy, and me and Sonic." He looked over the console to see the glass tube open up. "Step inside Cream, whenever your ready."

Cream nodded. "Okay!" She stepped up the small steps and into the tube slowly, then she turned around in a small turn to face everyone. "I'm ready!" She smiled.

"You sure you wanna do this Cream?" Amy asked skeptically. "What if Cheese doesn't recognize you?"

Cream smiled. "I won't change that much Amy. Besides, Cheese is off for Chao vacation somewhere. I'm sure he'll be okay with this."

Tails smiled as he pressed a button causing the glass tube to close again. "Whoever has any objections now, speak or forever hold your peace." He chuckled, ready to press his start switch.

"OBJECTION!" Sonic yelled, pointing a finger dramatically.

" Yeah? Well, deal with it." Shadow said as he pressed the start switch and a blue cloud almost instantly covered Cream and sparkles went everywhere inside the machine as it shook and sputtered; obviously working.

"Way past cool..." Sonic commented, watching the light show going on inside the glass tube.

"Oh I hope she's alright..." Amy said out loud, obviously worried.

"Hey Miles..." Shadow said, examining the tube.

"Yeah?" Tails replied, making sure the readings were still okay.

"Won't she grow too big for her current clothing...?" Shadow asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tails chuckled. "Don't worry Shadow I've, literally, got it covered. The machine will automatically enlarge her clothes as well."

"Please explain to me how that works."

"Well..." Tails was then interrupted though by the machine making a loud 'ding' noise, and slowing to a stop.

"She's done cooking!" Sonic commented as he stood impatiently. "Alright Cream! How ya feeling?" He called out to her.

"Definitely different Sonic!" A more melodic, mature, feminine voice replied back. It was still definitely Cream though...

"Cream is that you?! You sound different, a bit like Blaze maybe!" Amy commented, voicing her opinion.

"Nah, she sounds more like her mom, just a lot younger." Sonic replied to Amy.

"But can't you at least hear a bit of Blaze in her?"

"Meh, I guess you're right a little bit."

Amy smiled. "Aren't I always?"

Sonic chuckled. "Uh no, definitely not."

"That one time."

"No, about half the time Ames."

"You're not always right either!"

"Who said I was? I was just saying you're never always right."

"Oh just let the damn girl out already!" Shadow said as he pushed Tails lightly.

"Yeah, that'd be a good idea guys!" Cream responded, sounding a bit impatient.

Tails chuckled. "Right right." He pressed a button and hopped off the control panel, walking over to the machine as the doors opened, letting out the light blue cloud of smoke.

"Sonic clear the room please!" Amy said as she tried batting the smoke away with her hand.

"But the suspense Amy! It'll be ruined!" Sonic replied back, standing still as not to disturb the clouds of smoke as they naturally leave the room.

Shadow face palmed. "I swear Sonic, once the smoke clears I'm gonna kill you."

Cream giggled. "Let me have a swing at him too!"

Everyone seemed to quiet down.

"Well... That's new." Sonic was the first to comment.

"Well we did skip her puberty Sonic, her attitude and some of her likes are going to be different now." Tails commented.

"You're still Cream right...?" Amy asked, a bit fearful that she may have just lost her best friend.

"Of course I'm still me Amy! Just... A bit different that's all. Hell, I even surprised myself." Cream replied, but as she said her second sentence, Shadow had ran around them, clearing the room and making it hard for them to hear.

"Well now Cream... You look..." Sonic said as he looked upon her. "...Taller."

Cream giggled. "Yeah, I'm as tall as Amy now!"

Amy walked around her. "Since Sonic cant tell you what's different, allow me. You're taller, have more feminine stance, filled out your figure a bit more, though your still a bit petite. You'll probably fill out as much as your mom in a few years. What else...? Ah, your fur is a tiny bit darker, you don't have that innocent look in your eyes..." She paused as she looked in Cream's eyes. "Hmm?"

"Umm...? Amy? Can you back away a bit?" Cream asked uncomfortably.

Amy shook herself out of her trance. What did she see? A bit of dark humor and emotions in Cream's eyes? No, she can't be an emo like Shadow... Can she? "Right! Anyway... You're ears are still long. They go about halfway down your back now... And I believe that's it." She stepped back and stood next to Sonic. "How do you feel personally?"

At this moment, Tail's took out a clipboard and a pen.

Cream examined herself over. "Well... I feel okay. Nothing's really wrong..."

Tails shook his head. "Personal opinion please Cream? I wanna know what's changed in you of your personality."

Cream nodded and looked at her outfit. "Well... I don't like what I'm wearing, at all."

"But that's the same outfit you were just wearing before the transformation. It's your favorite outfit." Amy said as she examined Cream more.

"Well, I don't like it anymore. In fact, I really hate it now... Too many bright colors." Cream responded as she looked at all the orange. "Wonder if better outfits come in black... Or something similar..."

Too this Shadow looked up. "Excuse me Cream?" He asked, a bit dumbfounded. "You use to hate dark colors like black, said they were so depressing."

Cream shrugged. "Now I guess I like them." She looked at herself again. "I don't know, maybe I can do a black and blue thing? Or maybe even black and purple? I dunno, what do you think Amy?"

Amy kept looking Cream over silently. "...I... I dunno." She looked sad, near tears actually, though she forced a chuckle and a smile. "Just... should've guess a lot would change about you in 8 years..."

Cream chuckled. "Well yeah, no one stays the same." She smiled.

"Yeah... Well, I'll uh... I'll see you at your house Cream. Wait for ya there." Amy ran out of the room without another word.

"She gonna be okay?" Cream asked as she looked towards the door. "Did I say something stupid?"

Shadow shook his head. "No. It just came as a small shock to her how much you've changed. Hell, it shocked me a bit too."

Cream nodded as she rested a hand on her hip. "Right, got it..."

Tails was still scribbling away on his clipboard. "This all so fascinating!"

Sonic chuckled. "You sure you've got enough stuff written down Tails? It's ONLY four pages so far..." He said, obviously using sarcasm.

Tails chuckled and looked up, seeing that they were all on three different sides of Cream. Gaining an idea, Tails spoke. "Okay! Cream, notice how me, Sonic, and Shadow are all standing on different sides of you? I want you to just pick one of us and walk over to them."

Cream raised an eyebrow. "That's it? What does this have to do with anything?"

"Just do it please." Tails replied with a smile.

"Okay." Cream shrugged and walked over to Shadow. "How's that?"

Tails began writing a lot more things down.

"What'd I just do?" Cream asked aloud.

"I think he just did a mental test on you." Shadow replied. "None of us know why or how. Except him. I believe it had something to do with bwho you'd choose." Shadow replied with crossed arms.

"I don't see how that would..." Cream turned to see Tails writing away on a note pad.

"We could steal it from him if you want." Shadow said quietly enough so that only Cream could hear.

Cream shook her head in response. "Nah, I probably wouldn't understand any of it anyway."

"Ya know, something just occurred to me." Sonic said as he walked over to them.

"And what is that?" Shadow replied.

"Where's Silver?"

Shadow smirked. "Probably failing at flirting with Blaze. Again."

Cream giggled. "Is he really that bad?"

Sonic laughed. "Oh yeah. He goes about things in a completely bad way! He does so tiny things that it looks more like something a close friend would do than a love interest." He chuckled. "In fact, I remember last valentines day when he got her a rose. He chickened out and left it on her doorstep! Ha! Oh, but then later on he came with a box of chocolates. And not even heart shaped, just a regular box!"

Shadow was laughing a bit too. "Yeah. They're both extremely dense!"

"Or extremely shy about their feelings." Cream spoke up, standing at the door next to Tails. "C'mon. I'll tell you guys Blaze's side of the failed romance on the way there."

"There's a Blaze side?" Sonic asked as he and Shadow walked over to them.

"I'll change myself later. Admittedly, I kinda wanna hear this as well." Tails said as he locked the door to the workshop behind him and they began walking down the dirt path into town, past the large 2 story house where Sonic and Tails lived. It was actually a small manor in the sense that it had 6 bedrooms, a lot of square feet, and 4 bathrooms. Sonic and Tails had been trying to get more roommates, they had managed to convince Silver to move in next week.

"Alright Cream, spill the beans about Blaze." Sonic said excitedly as he walked next to the now sixteen year old.

Cream smiled. "Well, putting it bluntly, Blaze likes Silver as well. Not fully in love with him, but enough to wanna date the guy. But, being herself, she managed to convince herself that Silver needs to confess openly first, before she can tell him back. Oh, and she doesn't even think Silver likes her 'like that'."

"And why?" Shadow asked.

Cream sighed. "The usual, she doesn't wanna ruin their friendship blah blah blah, what if he hates her. What if he never wants to speak to her again. Normal annoying drama, except in a Blaze fashion so it sounds a lot more calm and stuff."

Sonic chuckled. "With her attitude, I sometimes forget she's a girl whatsoever. What about the roses? Does she know who's it from?"

Cream giggled. "She knows it's from Silver. But she won't believe herself, really strange if you ask me."

"It's all psychology Cream." Tails added as he walked along side them, taking notes.

"SONIC!"

Sonic chuckled. "Told ya she'd be back. You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up." He said as he stopped and turned to see the hyperactive seventeen year old hedgehog girl run up to him. "How ya doin Ames?"

Amy smiled up at him. "I'm good." She really had mellowed out over the years, no longer hugging and tackling and squeezing the life out of him every time she saw him. Yes she would still chase him sometimes, but it was more out of honest love and sometimes for plain old fun even.

Sonic chuckled. "Alright, let's hear your next 'get Sonic quick' scheme."

Amy chuckled in response. "I'm that obvious aren't I?" She was already ready to bail out, if Sonic was already joking, she had no chance whatsoever this time... No. She had to do this. This time, she has an ace up her sleeve.

Sonic smiled. "Don't worry Ames, I'm only kidding ya." He crossed his arms, still smiling. "Let's hear it shall we?" He would always give her a chance, it'd be rude and mean of him not too; and who knows? Maybe if her 'dates' weren't to boring places or some lame carnivals he would say yes. But it was always the same...

"I've got some tickets to see Crush 40. Since I know they're your favorite band." Amy said with a smirk. She had him this time, and this wasn't even her ace.

Sonic's smile turned into a full blown grin. "Whoa! Really Ames?"

Amy smiled and nodded. "Yep! We can bring our friends along too, since I've got quite the amount of tickets."

Sonic chuckled. "Hero rewards? Also, if we bring our friends, wouldn't that make it a group outing, not a date?"

Amy giggled. "Yep! But don't think this isn't part of an elaborate plan to take your heart!"

Sonic chuckled. "Well, then go ahead and mark phase one complete. Cause you've got yourself a deal. Lets go see that concert!"

Amy was possibly ecstatic. "Woah! Really?! Yes!" She skipped ahead of him, eager to catch up to their friends.

Sonic chuckled and jogged up to her. "How can you skip so fast?"

Meanwhile...

"Well, here it is... Home."

"Yes. Now are we going to stand out here or are we gonna go inside?" Shadow asked impatiently.

The three of them were standing on the porch of Creams house, waiting for the not-so-young rabbit to knock on the door so her mom could open it and allow them in. Cream couldn't seem to move her hand though, as nervousness had over come her. They have been standing out there for a total of five minutes.

"Yeah... Lemme just..." Cream's arm only twitched slightly.

Shadow sighed and tapped his foot impatiently again. "Knock please!"

"Fine fine!" Cream replied as she finally found the strength in her arm to lift it and calmly knock on the door and call out to her mother. "Uh... M-mom! It's me Cream!"

"C-coming!" They heard a nervous voice come from the other side of the door.

"She probably heard us arguing." Shadow commented from behind.

"Or your annoying foot tapping." Cream replied with a giggle.

Sonic and Amy had managed to catch up and stood on the front lawn of Vanilla's house. "Seems they're not even inside yet." Sonic commented as his eyes rested on the porch.

Amy's thoughts on the other hand, were elsewhere. "Say Sonic..." She she broke her own silence as she gazed off towards the clouds.

"Yeah Ames?" Sonic turned around and followed her gaze. "Seems a bit too early to star gaze don't you think?" He chuckled as his gaze went to her; awaiting her response.

Amy giggled lightly. "Very funny Sonic, and no. I don't think it's too early."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Amy smiled. "When you were little, did anyone ever tell you the fairy tale that each and every star is a different world?"

Sonic chuckled and looked back towards the cloudy sky. "Yeah... Though there seems to be a lack of stars right now Ames."

Amy lightly shoved him. "I'm getting to that! Anyway, do you believe it?"

Sonic shrugged lightly. "Eh I dunno. Probably yeah. Weirder things have happened Ames..." He looked over to their conversing friends. "Like Cream's new personality and such."

Amy sighed. "Don't remind me." She looked back up. "Well Sonic, do you believe in help from the heart?"

"Uhh... You're gonna have to be a bit more specific Amy."

Amy turned to face him. "Well... There's another tale that whenever you let loose a tear randomly, someone in some other world must be sad and in need of help."

"What do you do then Amy?" Sonic asked, a bit interested.

"You just close your eyes and reach your heart out to them. Try it Sonic." Amy smiled, seeing as Sonic let loose a random little tear. "Now would be a good time either way."

Sonic chuckled. "Alright alright, let's see..." He closed his eyes and focused. Remaining still and quiet for a while, then, after five minutes, he finally opened his eyes.

"So?" Amy asked, a bit expecting for Sonic to say a joke or ruin the moment.

"I heard a voice, a girls voice." Sonic replied as he looked back up. "She was asking for help with a guy I guess."

"What'd you try to say Sonic?" Amy raised an eyebrow, still partly expecting the joke.

Sonic smirked. "To talk to the guy duh. Things aren't gonna get anywhere without a little faith. That's my policy."

Amy smiled and nodded. "Yeah..."

"Faith."

((AN: Since I'm lazy I won't say much here. Just pretend this is a repeat of what I said in the opening authors note. Please Review!))


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